This volume advances the scientific understanding, development, and application of geospatial technologies related to groundwater resource management, mapping, monitoring, and modelling using up-to-date remote sensing and GIS techniques. The book further provides a critical analysis of the debates and discourses surrounding groundwater resources and society, illustrates the relationship between groundwater resources and precision agriculture for societal development, and describes novel, region-specific management strategies and techniques for sustainability with case studies. The book is organized into three parts: (I) Groundwater resources and societal development; (II) Groundwater availability, quality and pollution; and (III) Sustainable groundwater resources management. Each section begins with a short introduction that includes an overview of the papers in that section. Individual chapters focus on the core themes of research and knowledge along with some topics that have received lesser attention. The book will be of interest to water resource planners and decision-makers, academic researchers, policy makers, NGOs, and academic researchers and students in Geography, Geophysics, Hydrology, Remote Sensing & GIS, Agriculture, Soil Science, and Agronomy.

As water availability, management and conservation become global challenges, there is now wide consensus that historical knowledge can provide crucial information to address present crises, offering unique opportunities to appreciate the solutions and mechanisms societies have developed over time to deal with water in all its forms, from rainfall to groundwater. This unique collection explores how ancient water systems relate to present ideas of resilience and sustainability and can inform future strategy. Through an investigation of historic water management systems, along with the responses to, and impact of, various water-driven catastrophes, contributors to this volume present tenable solutions for the long-term use of water resources in different parts of the world. The discussion is not limited to issues of the past, seeking instead to address the resonance and legacy of water histories in the present and future. Water and Society from Ancient Times to the Present speaks to an archaeological and non-archaeological scholarly audience and will be a useful primary reference text for researchers and graduate students from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds including archaeology, anthropology, history, ecology, geography, geology, architecture and development studies.

This book contains the papers presented at a conference co-organized by the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and the Wessex Institute of Technology to facilitate trans-disciplinary communication on issues related to the nature of water, and its use and exploitation by society. With adequate water supply becoming a critical issue in more and more area, \there is a great and urgent need to bridge the gap between the broad spectrum of social sciences and humanistic disciplines and the specialists in physical and natural sciences, biology, environmental sciences, and health. Many issues are also trans-national in nature and relate to rights of states and hence it is essential to discuss these at international level to arrive at equitable and binding solutions that will ensure the rights of society to quality water supplies. The book discusses The nature of water; Water as a human right; Water as the source of life; Water in a changing climate; Future water demands and adaptation strategies; Water resources contamination; Surface and sub-surface water resources; Irrigation and desertification; Water, sanitation and health; Transnational water rights; Legislation and controls; Water through the ages; Lessons to be learnt; and Water and disaster management.

This volume advances the scientific understanding, development, and application of geospatial technologies related to groundwater resource management, mapping, monitoring, and modelling using up-to-date remote sensing and GIS techniques. The book further provides a critical analysis of the debates and discourses surrounding groundwater resources and society, illustrates the relationship between groundwater resources and precision agriculture for societal development, and describes novel, region-specific management strategies and techniques for sustainability with case studies. The book is organized into three parts: (I) Groundwater resources and societal development; (II) Groundwater availability, quality and pollution; and (III) Sustainable groundwater resources management. Each section begins with a short introduction that includes an overview of the papers in that section. Individual chapters focus on the core themes of research and knowledge along with some topics that have received lesser attention. The book will be of interest to water resource planners and decision-makers, academic researchers, policy makers, NGOs, and academic researchers and students in Geography, Geophysics, Hydrology, Remote Sensing & GIS, Agriculture, Soil Science, and Agronomy.

Fractured bedrock aquifers have traditionally been regarded as low-productivity aquifers, with only limited relevance to regional groundwater resources. It is now being increasingly recognised that these complex bedrock aquifers can play an important role in catchment management and subsurface energy systems. At shallow to intermediate depth, fractured bedrock aquifers help to sustain surface water baseflows and groundwater dependent ecosystems, provide local groundwater supplies and impact on contaminant transfers on a catchment scale. At greater depths, understanding the properties and groundwater flow regimes of these complex aquifers can be crucial for the successful installation of subsurface energy and storage systems, such as deep geothermal or Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage systems and natural gas or CO2 storage facilities as well as the exploration of natural resources such as conventional/unconventional oil and gas. In many scenarios, a robust understanding of fractured bedrock aquifers is required to assess the nature and extent of connectivity between such engineered subsurface systems at depth and overlying receptors in the shallow subsurface.

Water supports three basic pillars of our life and survival: safety, security, and sustainability. Hence, it is extremely important to revisit the fundamental characteristics of water in order to discover additional information and the characteristics water has that will help uncover pathways to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) to reduce inequality and make cities and human settlements more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Clean water is a critical component to meet such goals. While the fundamental physical and chemical properties of water continue to reveal new aspects, it is critical that we review these properties in the context of several recent applications and by case studies. The Handbook of Research on Water Sciences and Society provides the basics of water science, ways to sense/detect and mitigate contaminants, several regional case studies, and societal aspects of water, including the human right to access water. The book serves as a comprehensive knowledge base on the latest fundamental and applied research and scientific innovations regarding the relationships between society and water resources, safe and sustainable use of water, watershed stewardship, industrial application, and public health awareness. Covering a wide range of topics, it is an ideal resource for researchers, professionals, policymakers, scientists, practitioners, instructors, and students.

The aim of this book is to document for the first time the dimensions and requirements of effective integrated groundwater management (IGM). Groundwater management is a formidable challenge, one that remains one of humanity’s foremost priorities. It has become a largely non-renewable resource that is overexploited in many parts of the world. In the 21st century, the issue moves from how to simply obtain the water we need to how we manage it sustainably for future generations, future economies, and future ecosystems. The focus then becomes one of understanding the drivers and current state of the groundwater resource, and restoring equilibrium to at-risk aquifers. Many interrelated dimensions, however, come to bear when trying to manage groundwater effectively. An integrated approach to groundwater necessarily involves many factors beyond the aquifer itself, such as surface water, water use, water quality, and ecohydrology. Moreover, the science by itself can only define the fundamental bounds of what is possible; effective IGM must also engage the wider community of stakeholders to develop and support policy and other socioeconomic tools needed to realize effective IGM. In order to demonstrate IGM, this book covers theory and principles, embracing: 1) an overview of the dimensions and requirements of groundwater management from an international perspective; 2) the scale of groundwater issues internationally and its links with other sectors, principally energy and climate change; 3) groundwater governance with regard to principles, instruments and institutions available for IGM; 4) biophysical constraints and the capacity and role of hydroecological and hydrogeological science including water quality concerns; and 5) necessary tools including models, data infrastructures, decision support systems and the management of uncertainty. Examples of effective, and failed, IGM are given. Throughout, the importance of the socioeconomic context that connects all effective IGM is emphasized. Taken as a whole, this work relates the many facets of effective IGM, from the catchment to global perspective.